Special Olympics comes to area today
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. » The Special Olympics gives those with intellectual disabilities the chance to compete in a number of athletic events and compete for medals.
For Deanna “Dee” Ritzenberg, 28, it’s an opportunity to play the sports that she loves and give her more to do day to day. Last year, she helped carry the torch for the Special Olympics Law Enforce-
ment Torch Run before the games were held in Brockport.
This year, the games are being held in the Galway resident’s back yard.
The event has become one of the driving factors in her life.
The Special Olympics New York State Summer Games will be held on June 16-18 at various places throughout the Capital Region. Athletes from around the state competed locally and regionally just to qualify.
An estimated 1,500 athletes and coaches will make the trip to compete.
The opening ceremonies will take place on Friday at the Siena college athletic fields at 8 p.m. Part of the ceremony will honor fallen state trooper Timothy Pratt, who was a longtime a supporter of the Special Olympics. The ceremony will also contain the parade of athletes, a flyover by the New York State Police and members of law enforcement carrying the flame of hope.
The Flame of Hope will light the official caldron and mark the opening of events for the 2017 Special Olympics which begin on the Saturday at 8 a.m.
This will be the first time in a decade that the Special Olympics will be held in the Capital Region.
This year’s competition gives Ritzenberg the chance to compete close to her home, in front of a crowd filled with her friends and family.
She competes in swimming, basketball, golf and skiing.
Ritzenberg said the competition is her favorite thing.
“I love competing against other people,” Ritzenberg said. “I don’t show the other team how aggressive I am before we face off, but during the game I just show them how tough I am.”
Ritzenberg likes the Olympics not just for the competition, but for the people she gets to meet, including her husband Dan.
“It means very much to me because if I am in Special Olympics, I have fun and I hang out with my friends,” Ritzenberg said. “If I am home by myself it is really boring because I have nothing else to do. It also gave me the chance to meet my husband in 2006 and we have been together ever since.”
At the close of the Olympics, the athletes will participate in the victory dance and closing ceremonies, another one of Ritzenberg’s favorite things about the event.
“They have been helping me through my life,” Ritzenberg said of the games. “I get to volunteer doing stuff through special Olympics like this year I went to Applebee’s for the law enforcement and we raised over $1,000 for the Special Olympics.”
Event schedule and volunteer information about the games is available at www.specialolympicsnewyork.com